Sony schools Microsoft on video game console pricing

By PATRICK SEITZ

In pricing their latest video game consoles, Sony (SNE) apparently learned from past mistakes, while Microsoft (MSFT) is ignoring the lessons of recent history.

Microsoft was able to leapfrog Sony in the video game market eight years ago by pricing its current-generation console, the Xbox 360, significantly below Sony's console, the PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 started at $299 and the PS3 started at $499. Sony's PS3 was hobbled by its premium price and the fact that it hit the market in November 2006, a year after the Xbox 360 debuted.